Festival 2007 showcases unique, handmade arts, crafts

Talented arts and craftspeople will be showing and selling their works Friday and Saturday, March 2-3, at the Arts & Crafts Festival 2007 at West Center.

The festival, sponsored by the Green Valley Arts and Crafts Association, runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday.

It offers unique gift items, all handcrafted by local artisans, door prizes, and refreshments.

The show is free and open to the public, with more than 120 vendors on hand showcasing their jewelry, ceramics, textiles, woodwork, lapidary, clay work, pottery, metal work, woven and knitted items , sculpture and more.

All GVR members

All those showing their works are Green Valley Recreation members who belong to the Arts and Crafts Association.

Many of them have taken GVR classes in their respective specialties and use GVR equipment available in studios and the woodshops. Others are self-taught and do most of their work at home.

Among those who work at home with their own equipment is Klaus Stange, 84, who has been displaying his unique wooden bowls with special designs in local arts and crafts shows since 1987.

Klaus and Joan Stange moved to Green Valley in 1984 from Pittsford, N.Y. , where he worked for Xerox Corp. and she as an educator.

In 1986, Klaus bought an inexpensive woodturning lathe and taught himself how to use it. More equipment followed and much experimentation.

“Keeping busy in retirement is the way to stay happy and this has been his main activity,” said Joan, who will show her needlework at the show.

“Searching for different kinds of wood was very time-consuming and frustrating, for Klaus,” she said.

“Finally, he tried alder wood and became familiar with working with it. Then, he started putting Southwest designs on the turnings and the rest is history,” she said.

Currently, Klaus has many repeat customers seeking his bowls. They appreciate the extra time that he spends on each one the beautiful finish he achieves.

Arts & Crafts Festival 2007 Chair Elaine Stokes says Klaus “calls himself a craftsman but is really an artist.”

“All his stuff is so perfect. He does terrific work and is a real draw at the show. Some couples come regularly to buy two or three more of his bowls to add to their collections.

Several years ago, Joan started making needlepoint pads to put under her husband’s turnings. They can also be used as hot pads or hung on the wall to fill a vacant spot and will be available at the shoe.

Joan Soike is another artisan who is self-taught and works at home, but said she benefited greatly from taking a GVR class in wire wrapping.

She and her husband moved to Green Valley six years ago from Spokane, Wash., where she worked as a driver’s license examiner.

Soike started her bead work more than 20 years ago.

“My mother-in-law gave me some beautiful beads, so I decided to do something with them,” she explained.

“At that time, there were no local bead shops where I could get instruction, so I visited the Wapato (Wash.) Indian Reservation where I could buy basic beading instructions and more beads.

She started out making earrings and progressed to more difficult projects.

One bead at a time

“Most of the bead work I love to do is called bead weaving. I use tiny seed beads and sew them with needle and thread, one bead at a time to develop the pattern. I usually embellish the beadwork with Swarovski crystals and other lovely beads to complete the project,” she said.

She also works on a loom designed to accommodate larger projects. Most of her designs take two weeks to complete.

Every creation is different, she said, adding that she believes her work is unique “because it takes so long to complete a project and not many are willing to do this.”

Because the work takes so much focus and concentration, “you can’t bead for more than two hours at a time.”

In addition to showing her jewelry creations in Green Valley, Soike also participates in shows in Montana and Idaho.

Exhibitors Bernie and Donna Me Hoefs moved to Green Valley in 1996 from Wausau, Wis. Bernie was a buyer for JI Case, a company which makes heavy construction equipment, and Donna worked as an accountant.

They have been displaying their art work at GV arts and crafts shows for the past eight years.

After taking lapidary classes at West Center, Donna decided this was something she really enjoyed and wanted to do. She has since developed her own style, using free-form semi-precious stones from around the world and surrounding them in sterling silver.

She specializes in pendants, with matching earrings and slides and favors chrysocolla, a copper ore whose stones resemble turquoise and come in beautiful shades of green and blue.

In 1999, a friend came over to the Hoefs’ house and wanted Donna to do something with some plain lamp shades.

A candle Donna had decorated with leather and feathers was sitting there and her friend immediately exclaimed, “That’s what I want for my lampshades!”

Started work on feather art

Donna experimenting with the idea and came up with the feather art she and Bernie are selling today.

They both work at the feather art and have expanded their line.

Some of the lampshade art has an agate in the center that the light shines through when the lamp is turned on.

A smaller version is made into a pin that can be worn on clothing or used to decorate a hat, basket, gourd, or picture frame.

The Hoefs recently did a special order for a leather valence in a living room. and also do various home decorations with feathers.

The Hoefs use only chicken or pheasant feathers which are cleaned and sterilized and purchased from a feather factory out of California.

While the art festival allows local artisans the opportunity to make some extra money, the association usually gives a major donation, ranging from $5,000 to $6,000 a year to GVR out of the festival proceeds and those from other shows.

In years past, the association has donated a defibrillators to GVR, a piano and new stage curtain for Desert Hills Center, and funds to the Santa Rita Art League for new equipment at their art room at Santa Rita Springs.

kengle@gvnews.com| 547-9732